Whitesnake is 1987 all the way, and the band's megahit "Here I Go Again" is perhaps the catchiest
hard rock song of all time. Whitesnake has a complex history that stretches over four
decades. Here are a few things you probably don't know about the band.
Whitesnake wasn't exactly an overnight sensation. David Coverdale formed the band after leaving
Deep Purple, and launching a brief solo career, releasing two albums. He then formed a band
he initially called David Coverdale's Whitesnake, which he quickly and wisely shortened to just
Whitesnake. The band released its first album, Trouble, in 1978.
Over the next few years, Whitesnake released five more albums to modest success in the
U.K. and Europe and a distinct lack of success in the United States. The band's sound was
initially out of step with what was happening in rock music at the time. It was a very bluesy,
rough 1970s sound that simply wasn't in vogue in a world where punk rock and new wave were
dominating the rock charts.
Coverdale, to his credit, understood this and worked to change the band's sound. He
switched up the personnel in his band and began writing songs that leaned more into
the heavy metal sound that was popular at the time. Thanks to this evolution, Whitesnake's
sixth album, Slide It In, became their initial modest breakthrough in the U.S. six years
after their formation. They mounted a massive tour and got a few singles on the charts,
and the stage was set for the band to take a tremendous leap forward with their next
project — which is exactly what happened.
"Finally after all these years Americans have shown great taste."
Whitesnake doesn't seem like a band that would be mentioned in the same sentence as blues
legend B.B. King. The differing musical styles, cultural backgrounds, and fashion sense would
seem to prove that these were two completely opposite worlds that would never mix.
But it's important to note that band founder David Coverdale came out of a blues-inspired,
1970s rock tradition thanks to his time in Deep Purple. So it's not entirely crazy to
learn that one of Whitesnake's signature hit songs was originally written with the intention
of giving it to King to record.
According to Coverdale, Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden had interviewed King for a
British magazine in 1978. At the end of the interview, King invited Marsden and Whitesnake
to write a song for him — and the band was excited to do so.
The song the band came up with was "Fool For Your Loving." If you think that sounds familiar,
that's because it eventually appeared on Whitesnake's 1980 album Ready an' Willing. Though they
were trying to write for King, the band realized they liked the song too much to give it away.
This turned out to be a good move, as the song hit Number 13 on the charts in 1980 and
Number 43 when it was re-recorded and re-released in 1989.
If you're just looking at Whitesnake's release history, you'd think the band existed smoothly
and without controversy at least until 1989, when the band took an eight-year break between
albums. But the fact is that Whitesnake essentially broke up in 1982.
There was a lot going on for the band that year, thanks in no small part to Coverdale's
efforts to continue to evolve Whitesnake's sound. The band wasn't getting along, and
while their albums had sold well in Europe and the U.K., they hadn't managed a breakthrough
in the all-important U.S. market.
Then, Coverdale's daughter, Jessica, contracted bacterial meningitis. The lead singer decided
to put the band on hold while he went home to look after her. The band, however, saw
it differently: Guitarist Bernie Marsden, drummer Ian Paice, and bassist Neil Murray
say they thought Coverdale was acting like he was Whitesnake and treating them as employees,
not co-equal members. So they walked out.
That might have been fine with Coverdale. He hired new band members and shaped the band
into the hair metal powerhouse he'd been dreaming of.
Though Coverdale was a key driving force, another of the main influences over Whitesnake's
change in style and sudden success after years of frustration was music titan David Geffen.
According to Coverdale, it was Geffen who actually persuaded him to evolve the band's
sound in pursuit of success.
Coverdale took the advice to heart. He moved to America, realizing that if he wanted to
conquer that market he had to live there. Whitesnake signed to Geffen's label in 1982,
released Slide It In in 1984, and over the course of those first two Geffen albums, became
a whole new band As Coverdale later recalled in an interview with Louder,
"It worked astonishingly well. I sold embarrassingly large amounts of records in a three- to five-year
period."
After finally tasting chart success in the U.S. with 1984's Slide It In, Whitesnake was
poised for huge success. American radio had finally given them significant airplay, a
world tour had cemented a fan base, and their U.S. music label, Geffen, was very supportive
of the band.
David Coverdale hired a new guitarist, John Sykes, and the two began writing songs in
1985 while Coverdale, always reinventing the band, looked around for a new drummer and
other personnel. Things were going very well — Coverdale had resurrected an old demo
from his Deep Purple days, a song that would become their huge hit "Still of the Night."
And a song he'd originally written for Tina Turner, "Is This Love," would also be a smash
for the band. With the new lineup finally in place, the band headed into the studio,
but the biggest album of Whitensake's career almost didn't happen.
Around this time, Coverdale came down with a severe sinus infection that prevented him
from singing for a full eight months as he recovered. The infection was so bad he was
given 50-50 odds of ever singing again and needed surgery to recover. Even worse, guitarist
Sykes attempted to push Coverdale out of the band and replace him with another singer.
When Coverdale re-entered the studio, the music tracks had been recorded — but the
band had been fired.
For many casual fans, "Here I Go Again" is a catchy rock song about moving forward and
pursuing restless dreams. The song was a smash top-ten hit for Whitesnake in 1987, and the
music video starring Tawny Kitaen is an iconic image of the late 1980s.
But the truth about "Here I Go Again" is a lot darker. The song had originally appeared
on Whitesnake's 1982 album Saints & Sinners, and David Coverdale wrote the song about his
crumbling marriage to Julia Borkowski, who he'd married in 1974. The couple divorced
in 1978, and it was a dark time for Coverdale, as he found himself sleeping in a separate
bed even after they'd just welcomed a daughter together.
It was in this frame of mind that he wrote his most successful song. It makes sense if
you pay attention to the lyrics, many of which are all about feeling lost and asking for
strength and guidance while pushing forward. Once you hear it, you can never hear the song
in the same way again.
"Here I Go Again" is also, interestingly, a song that had to be recorded three times
before it became a hit. After Saints & Sinners, Coverdale recorded it two more times for the
band's 1987 self-titled album. Once the final version hit, though, it really hit.
The image of Tawny Kitaen cavorting on top of two Jaguars in the music video for Whitesnake's
"Here I Go Again" is one of the most iconic moments of the golden age of music video.
But it was actually supposed to be another very famous face from the 1980s doing those
impressive cartwheels.
David Coverdale and Kitaen already knew each other when the music video was being planned
— but Kitaen wasn't originally cast in the role. Instead, supermodel Claudia Schiffer
was supposed to appear. At the time, Schiffer was red hot as the face of the iconic Guess
Jeans advertising campaign.
One evening, Coverdale and Kitaen were out to dinner when Coverdale received an urgent
message from the label — Schiffer had been forced to drop out of the video. He took Kitaen
with him to the meeting with the video's director, Marty Callner. The moment Callner saw Kitaen,
he asked if she'd take Schiffer's place — and naturally Kitaen said yes. Coverdale brought
in Paula Abdul to work with Kitaen on her moves, but Abdul reportedly told him Kitaen
didn't need any help.
"I did floor, and I did the balance beam, so you know, dancing on two Jaguar hoods was...snap.
That decision had real-life consequences for Coverdale and Kitaen, who married two years
later and divorced less than two years after that.
Rock and roll is a notoriously chaotic business, and Whitesnake epitomizes that. There are
only two constants in the history of Whitesnake: lead singer David Coverdale and an almost
entirely new lineup of musicians every few years. In 1982, for example, Coverdale fired
most of the band and reformed it with a new direction. And in 1987, he did pretty much
the same thing — before the album Whitesnake was even released.
By the time Coverdale recovered from his devastating sinus infection and was preparing to promote
the self-titled album, he'd fired basically the whole band again after they tried to force
him out. That meant he needed new musicians not just for the upcoming tour, but for the
music videos tied to the album's singles. So, when you watch an iconic video like "Here
I Go Again," you're actually watching a lie. With the exception of Coverdale and guitarist
Adrian Vandenberg, none of the band members in that video actually played on the track
they're miming.
If you're a musician seeking job security, stay away from Whitesnake. Over the course
of 42 years, the band has had 40 members aside from David Coverdale, who has been the only
member to appear on every single album. In fact, it's not uncommon to find a musician
who toured with the band but never appeared on a recording, or the other way around.
"I mean, I wish the guys well. I'm familiar with all of them."
This is because Coverdale has always been willing to change the band's sound and approach
when he thinks it's necessary, which often requires fresh blood and possibly because
he's difficult to work with. According to Louder, the entire band revolted against Coverdale's
leadership in 1982, resulting in a complete purge and a new lineup.
What's really remarkable is how many top-notch musicians have had their Whitesnake moment.
People like legendary drummer Cozy Powell have made their mark in the band, after all.
But perhaps the most remarkable statistic is the fact that the band has had 12 lead
guitarists in its time, including absolute legends Vivian Campbell, Steve Vai, and John
Sykes. If you're going to rearrange the lineup of your band every few years, after all, you
might as well hire Hall of Fame-caliber musicians.
You might think that by 1985 David Coverdale was pretty rich. At the age of 22, in 1973,
he became the lead singer of one of the biggest bands in the world, Deep Purple. Then he launched
a solo career and finally put together Whitesnake, a band that by that point had released six
albums, toured the world, and enjoyed not inconsiderable success around the world.
And yet by the mid-1980s, Coverdale was nearly $3 million in debt by the time he was working
on the album that would become 1987's Whitesnake. Coverdale blames poor advice from the band's
management over the years, and was apparently so desperate to get away from one manager
that in the early 1980s he took on more debt in exchange for a contract release.
It all worked out. Whitesnake's self-titled 1987 album was a massive hit. Although the
album only made it to Number 2 on the charts, it kept charting for months on the strength
of hits like "In the Still of the Night" and "Here I Go Again." The album sold more than
15 million copies around the world, and Coverdale went from being millions in debt to having
millions in the bank.
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